


The Coming Clusterf*ck

by blue_pointer



Series: A Glorious Retelling [62]
Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Absolute Fucking Chaos, Allura does not work for free sorry, Allura is not happy, Bad Ideas, Beard Threats, Canon Timeline, Cassandra the Leader, Deal Breaker, Don't copy to another site, Episode: c01e073 The Coming Storm, Everyone Hates Raishan, Everyone Needs A Hug, Experiments, Exposition, Gilmore Is Too Old for this Shit, Gilmore has given up, Grog the Strategist, Hail Keyleth Full of Rage, Here there be dragons, Humor, If Vax was raised in a barn where was Vex raised?, Intrigue, Keyleth used the B word, M/M, Meetings in Real Life, Metallic Dragon!Gilmore, Minor Shaun Gilmore/Vax'ildan, POV Shaun Gilmore, Panic, Picture This Over Zoom, Plans, Poor Cassie, Raishan in Disguise, Scanlan the Smartass, Smart Grog, Snogging, Spinning Ball of Death(tm), Stabby Percy, Suspicious Vax'ildan, Telepathy, The Game Revealed, Vax has no manners, Worried Vex'ahlia, minor Shaun Gilmore/Grog Strongjaw, spy games, trickery
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-02
Updated: 2021-03-05
Packaged: 2021-03-14 13:21:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,709
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29792523
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blue_pointer/pseuds/blue_pointer
Summary: A Whitestone Council meeting goes awry when tempers flare. Threats, excessive swearing, kissing, and stabbing all ensue in the chaos. And that's not the end of it...
Relationships: Cassandra de Rolo & Shaun Gilmore, Shaun Gilmore & Allura Vysoren, Shaun Gilmore & Raishan, Shaun Gilmore & Vox Machina, Shaun Gilmore/Grog Strongjaw
Series: A Glorious Retelling [62]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1975831
Comments: 8
Kudos: 13





	1. Whiff

Within the hour, a page arrived to call Gilmore to a meeting of the council. He was presentable by then, so Gilmore brought out his cane and made his way up the hill to the castle. Allura and Drake were already in attendance. It had been some time since Gilmore had seen the Realmseer. Perhaps he was still not well enough to attend council meetings. That was worrisome. 

Gilmore approached Allura. “Kima’s still at home?” 

Allura smiled. “You know she hates bureaucratic things like this.”

Gilmore chuckled. “That’s true.” Though given the attendees for this meeting, Gilmore doubted it would stay boring. He moved to the west window and looked out, searching for Raishan to proceed with their plan. 

_Ready?_ She asked, speaking directly into his mind, as before.

“Ready,” he whispered. They’d agreed that it would not be safe for her to appear in person within such an enclosed space with all of Vox Machina in attendance. So Raishan had perched on the roof above, and Gilmore would serve as her focus for an illusory projection. 

He turned toward the door, and an illusion of Assum entered, greeting the others and switching places with Gilmore at the window. Then he waited, giving Cassandra a hug before things became too hectic. She looked worried. “What is it?” Gilmore asked her, adjusting the hood of her sunproof cloak, pleased to see she was wearing it just in case. 

Cassandra shook her head. “Nothing.” But he could tell there was something.

“Is Percival alright?” Gilmore asked. 

Her worried look intensified. “I’m not sure.” Perhaps he’d given her some advance warning about this meeting. That was good to know. 

“Whatever it is, we’ll work through it together,” Gilmore said, giving her another hug before she took her seat. Gilmore returned to exchanging pleasantries with the other mages until Vox Machina arrived, fashionably late, as always. He nodded to them in greeting, flashing a warm smile at Vax, who did not return it. 

The lot of them were not subtle about their intentions. The twins both remained standing, Vex’ahlia directly across from where “Assum” stood, and Vax’ildan blocking the doors. Keyleth made an unsubtle circuit of the room to stand as close as she could manage to the illusion of Assum. Raishan made the illusion nod and smile at her, and Keyleth returned the subtly hostile gesture. Percival was more sly, pulling a chair out for Assum and sitting in the one next to it. But neither Gilmore nor Raishan were going to fall for that. “Assum” waved a hand, declining the kind gesture and staying where he was. 

Gilmore took a seat next to Allura, and beckoned Grog to join him. If this did not end in disaster, he wanted to have a word with Grog. And it never hurt to have a solid wall of muscle at your side in tense times. Grog looked wary, too, but he would not decline such an invitation from Gilmore.

Cassandra called the meeting to order, and asked Percival to narrate what exactly had happened in the ruins of Draconia. As Percy described their success, Keyleth brought out her newly-acquired Vestige and handed it to Allura. That was interesting. Did this mean that Gilmore no longer had to Identify objects for them so long as there was another mage within arms’ reach? He hid a laugh when Allura just made a mild remark before handing the staff back to Keyleth, who looked disappointed.

Cassandra summed up their current precarious situation before Allura took over to speak specifically about the challenge of Thordak. She shared that she’d reached out to several former members of the Arcana Pansophical, but none would be able to reach them in time to join the coming battle. The Arcanist suggested they attack Thordak before he attacked them. 

Personally, Gilmore thought they had a good chance of survival if they stayed where they were and picked off the advance forces Thordak would send to attack them. The red dragon himself would never leave Emon. Certainly, that wouldn’t solve the problem of Thordak taking over Emon, but it would keep them alive, and whittle down enemy forces. But Gilmore knew Vox Machina would never go for that. 

So he stepped in to support Allura’s plan. “If we are to strike, I agree, it should also be very soon. We’ve pushed the boundaries of being on his periphery even this long. And you say that he knows your faces, correct?” The red dragon was not that skilled at scrying. But then, Vox Machina were not that skilled at intercepting those scrying on them either. 

“Yes,” Percy said.

“His gaze will now surely fall upon the seven of you, at the very least,” Gilmore said. 

“It was inevitable,” Percy said, sounding resigned. 

The illusion of Assum spoke next, taking a leisurely stroll around the room as he did so. “He” told of how Thordak was corrupting the landscape of Emon and for miles around the city, even the shoreline. And shared that the Cinder King had many followers under his sway.

Allura explained that she thought it was the soul anchor from the elemental plane of fire that was expediting the corruption around Thordak. She felt responsible, having been the one who’d implanted it in the dragon to begin with, and said she would do anything necessary to fix the harm that she’d begun. But she urged that they take action soon, before Thordak began to burn down other cities in Tal’Dorei. She felt confident he would, and soon. Gilmore was not so sure. 

Vax called on “Assum” for his advice. “Assum” said they should pore over the information and resources they had, and make a plan based on those, but pointed out he was not a general or one who planned military maneuvers.

The tension in the room was thick. Gilmore glanced from one council member to the other. For no good reason, Percival stood from his chair and began to walk toward the window. “We’re not going to be safe here for much longer, that much is certain,” Percy said. “So we will need to move quickly.” 

Drake brought up that Raishan was still at large, so there was not just Thordak to worry about. Grog tried to steer the conversation back to focus on Thordak, and Gilmore was proud of him. Percival agreed, saying that Thordak might be expecting them to go for Raishan first, and so it might give them the element of surprise to attack him next.

Then Scanlan opened his big mouth to unleash a string of put-downs against Raishan, no doubt hoping to draw out her ire. He didn’t understand that you didn’t live to be centuries old without learning temperance. Drake agreed that, if Raishan was really that weak, maybe they should attack Thordak first. But he was worried about the dragon he couldn’t see, and urged vigilance. Keyleth agreed, glaring daggers at “Assum” in a way that showed she had not yet learned that temperance.

Allura suggested that Thordak’s personal vendetta against her could be used to their advantage, perhaps to draw out the red dragon. “Do you want to offer yourself as bait?” Vex’ahlia asked in disbelief. Allura said it was one option, at least. 

Percival cut in and spoke of the golden ship from Vorugal’s hoard. The more Gilmore heard about it, the more he wanted it for his collection. Then Percy suggested they could somehow use the siphon against Thordak. Both Vex’ahlia and Grog expressed doubt about that strategy, and Gilmore knew he had to cut in before they tried something more stupid than usual. 

“Exactly. We were poring over that thing for a number of weeks until we had to build this barrier. And to be perfectly honest, I’m sick of it,” Gilmore declared. It certainly wasn’t going to be useful to them when it came to fighting dragons. 

“You’ve got nothing?” Vax asked, in a tone that implied that Gilmore had not been doing an adequate job of analysing it. 

“Well, we understand it’s a siphon. It’s bringing the energy of the nexus somewhere. We just don’t know where the other end of it is. Or if it’s even functioning properly.”

Keyleth began questioning Allura about the soul stone, saying that since she’d enchanted it, she must know how to destroy it. Allura seemed to get a different idea, though, and turned to “Assum” to ask about his intel from the underground resistance in Emon. 

Raishan spoke of getting more information about the soul stone, but Scanlan interrupted, asking how they would get information from Emon without traveling there. “Oh, we would have to go to Emon,” she said, as if that were obvious (it was). 

“That sounds crazy,” the gnome said. “Is there any way to **not** do that?” Such bravery. They were doomed. 

“Assum” suggested perhaps he should go to Emon alone, and Gilmore realized that had been what Raishan had intended to do all along. Keyleth growled and glared at “Assum”, speaking directly to him about the existence of an individual who **did** know about the nature of the soul stone, because they’d worked around it very recently. A master of courtly intrigue, Keyleth was not. 

“I really don’t,” Grog said. “I have no idea.” Gilmore wasn’t sure if Grog had followed what Keyleth had said and was making the joke on purpose, or if he had thought she was talking about him. Either way, it lightened the mood. Gilmore smiled and patted Grog’s arm. 

Keyleth explained that she’d been talking about Raishan, admitting that she had a lot of feelings about Raishan. And then went back to glaring at “Assum”. Gilmore put his head in his hands. Could they be more obvious?

Cassandra brought their tangent back to the main topic, pointing out that they had made allies and could amass those forces to attack Thordak. “Assum” spoke up to warn of the number of allies Thordak had at his disposal: kobolds, lizard men, and wyvern riders from many leagues away, not to mention fire giants and others he’d brought with him from the fire elemental plane. 

Scanlan kept pressing for a way to draw Thordak out of the city, and the others joined in with suggestions. Finally “Assum” said what Gilmore was thinking: they had been lucky to draw out Vorugal. There was no way they could do the same to Thordak. 

Vax looked annoyed. “So your prediction is that we have to slog our way through the outskirts of Emon to fight him on his home turf. That about the size of it?” Maybe she’d offended him by implying that their victory over Vorugal had been lucky. But she was right. They’d come very close to death. 

Scanlan asked for an alternative solution to attacking Thordak head-on. And, counter to what she’d said before, Raishan began giving them viable strategies which utilized their allies. 

The look of disgust and hatred had not left Keyleth’s face this entire time. “Everyone who we ask, everyone who we send in there, we’re sending in to their death.” 

“This is war,” Percy said to her, not unkindly. 

Even Vax seemed to understand Raishan’s suggested strategy, and then he, Grog, and Scanlan began to discuss it as a plan. Keyleth protested, saying how many of their friends they’d watched die when the Conclave first invaded Emon. “A lot of us are going to die,” Vax told her regretfully, already resigned to his own death, as Gilmore knew. Surely Keyleth understood that. There was no clean, easy solution to this problem. 

Cassandra cut in, speaking like a true leader, “If we are smart about this, we can minimize the casualties far more now than they would be a week, two weeks, a month, a year from now.” 

“I agree,” Grog said. At least some of them were thinking pragmatically.

Percy worried about the danger to Whitestone. Scanlan worried they would be too exposed on the march to the city. But Vax stepped forward and explained it was their best option now for success. Scanlan and Grog suggested a staging point for their allied forces. 

All this while, there was a game of chase being played, where Raishan moved the illusion of Assum around the council table at a leisurely stroll, and Percival followed several paces behind, slowly gaining on “Assum.” Gilmore wasn’t sure which to watch: the debate at the table, or the painfully slow game of cat and mouse. 

“Assum” described the landscape of the city and the cloudtop district, and told them of the deep chasm Thordak had made for the inner sanctum of his lair. That must be where he was keeping the eggs. “He” also described the significant changes to Thordak himself, which did surprise Gilmore. The dragon himself was being corrupted by the fire elemental plane? That sounded like very bad news for all of them. 

Allura hypothesized that Thordak might have brought part of the fire plane with him into the prime material plane. If so, this battle would be like no other. The children began to cook up a hair-brained scheme to travel to the fire plane and search for a link to Thordak which they could sever. Allura tried to talk them out of it, but once they had an idea in their heads…

“Assum” stepped forward, setting his illusory hands on the table. He taunted them, saying it was a shame they didn’t know more about the ritual that had brought Thordak through. All of Vox Machina was glaring at “him” now. 

Scanlan suggested they send out messages to all of their allies to gather and prepare for battle. Drake seconded him. Vex’ahlia asked--seemingly at random--if an airship had arrived. Apparently they’d sent one, most likely from Ank’Harel, if Gilmore was any judge of the timing and likelihood of finding such a vessel. That made him nervous. 

“We have one other option in front of us,” Percival said, looking at Scanlan. “Show them the medal.” 

“Ah, no thank you,” Scanlan said, in a suspiciously subtle way. But apparently not subtle enough for Percy.

“We have another ally that we have spoken of,” he said, and Vex’ahlia gasped. 

“It’s a tenuous ally at best. Maybe we shouldn’t discuss it until we’re 100% sure about it,” Scanlan hinted. So an ally they wanted to keep secret from Raishan. The twins, too, joined Scanlan in talking down this alleged ally, also hinting not to tell anyone about it. But who were they speaking of? Now Gilmore was curious. 

Being stubborn, Percival kept going. “On the other continent, we were given...something special.” Now Keyleth, too, jumped in to try to keep Percy quiet. 

But it was too late. Gilmore knew who it was. And it must have been why Devo’ssa had revealed themself to Vox Machina. They’d wanted to show what a powerful ally they might be, if the children won their favour. Well. That was a terrifying thought. Gilmore would likely be seeing them very soon, then, even if he didn’t go home. 

Percy seemed annoyed that they were intent upon suppressing him. He began to walk toward “Assum” once more, trying to appear casual, and failing. Gilmore hoped he was not going to do anything rash. 

A moment later, Percival drew his sword and stabbed the illusion of Assum repeatedly.


	2. Tempers and Temperance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The meeting continues with all cards on the table. Keyleth's murderous rage intensifies. Vax behaves badly.

Gilmore sighed. He’d really hoped he was going to be proven wrong. Without thinking, Gilmore reconfigured the illusion out of Percival’s reach, and Raishan made Assum look shocked. 

As one, the entire table leapt to their feet, and Gilmore followed. “Whoa, whoa, whoa!” Cassandra ran to her brother to calm him down. 

“No tricks in here,” Percy said, staring down ‘Assum’. “No tricks in here, if we’re really going to do this.” But Gilmore could tell, from the way Percival’s aura was vibrating, he’d really thought he could just walk up and stab Raishan casually in full daylight. Stress and high temper had made them all foolish. 

Percival repeated himself as the slow realization dawned on the rest of the council. Gilmore tried not to roll his eyes. _I told you_ , Raishan said, speaking into his mind again. Gilmore sighed. He had a headache. But he noticed Grog had put an arm out, as if to shield Gilmore from a blast of some kind. That was very sweet. 

Percy sheathed his sword, and ‘Assum’ crossed his arms over his chest. “Pardon me if I take a few careful precautions in case one would take a blade and stab at a supposed ally,” Raishan said. 

“You know damn well that we’re not allies,” Percival said. “You know damn well that this is a tenuous relationship. And you know that neither of us trusts the other.” Gilmore rubbed his forehead. Why did they always have to make things so difficult?

Allura interrupted, as annoyed as Gilmore had ever seen her. “I’m sorry--what the hell is going on here?” Her voice was raised, and that was highly unusual. Then again, so was stabbing a council member. 

“We’ll get there,” Percival told her, dismissively. “I would hope that you wouldn’t trust us. And I would hope that you would understand that we don’t trust you. But we need to make a real plan now,” he said to ‘Assum’. 

Gilmore came very close to pointing out that you could distrust someone without attempted murder. Instead, he played along, pretending to be as surprised as everyone else. “Pardon my momentary ignorance,” Gilmore said. “Would you like me to cleanse the room?” 

Percival only answered with a riddle. It was Scanlan who pointed out that taking Gilmore up on his offer was not a bad idea. If what the gnome had told Gilmore was true, perhaps he felt more comfortable with a metallic dragon present. 

Percy asked ‘Assum’ how she wanted to proceed, and Raishan made clear that Assum’s form was still merely an illusion, telling Percy she was quite comfortable where she was. So Percival asked her to proceed with the “real” plan. 

The illusion of Assum greeted those present: “Hello. Seeker Assum is still back in Emon, dealing with the difficulty of the current circumstance we’re discussing. I am Raishan, member of the Conclave, and--up until recently--tenuous ally with Thordak the Cinder King, who is now considered a mutual thorn in all of our sides. So, I’ve made an agreement with your Vox Machina for quite some time. Together, using our combined strengths, we slew Vorugal the Frigid Doom, over in Wildemount. We’ve returned to reconvene. I’ve provided nothing but honest, up front, and vital information necessary to your victory. So.”

Percival confirmed they had made an alliance, adding that it had not been for as long as Raishan claimed. Allura was on edge, her fingers gathering spells to cast at any moment, her hair stirred by a growing magewind. This was not good. Gilmore glanced at Cassandra, who looked like a frightened girl. He wanted to squeeze her hand and reassure her. But he himself wasn’t entirely sure; were they really thinking of doing this here? 

Percival mansplained to everyone that it was better to have everything on the table, so they knew all the facts, and took into consideration that Raishan was setting a trap for them, or was still allied with Thordak and tricking them. Gilmore realized there was nothing he or Raishan could say to convince them otherwise. 

Keyleth demanded Raishan tell them how she’d brought Thordak out of the fire plane, accusing her of “using” Keyleth’s people before murdering them. Perhaps it was splitting hairs, but Gilmore would not have put it quite that way. As Raishan began to speak, Cassandra sat down, carefully watching both her brother and ‘Assum’. Gilmore remained standing, because all of Vox Machina still was. 

Raishan described how she’d learned interplanar travel from the Pyrah tribe to make contact with Thordak. She congratulated Allura on the indestructibility of the soul anchor. And told of how the fire giants loyal to Thordak had crafted a crack in the soul anchor that allowed the essence of the fire plane to be embedded within it, so that Thordak could take it with him when he left. It was mad on its face. A wonder Thordak had not already been destroyed by it if that was what the red dragon carried around inside his breast. 

“However, we didn’t have a means of creating a hole large enough to bring both through without destroying both in the process,” Raishan continued. “And, as such, we waited for the right time: Winter’s Crest.”

“You bitch!” Keyleth snarled. How dark she had become. The druid hardly resembled her former self. It made Gilmore a little sad. 

“To some, maybe,” Raishan replied with dignity. Gilmore didn’t think Keyleth’s misogyny appropriate. You could hate someone without attacking their gender--especially when you shared it. Raishan told them about the ember seed she’d created, and that it was the cause of Thordak's corruption, as well as that of the land around him.

Keyleth began to ramble about how Raishan had used her, and used all of her people. Gilmore didn’t understand why she felt so much guilt about what Raishan had done. As far as Gilmore was concerned, Keyleth had had nothing to do with it. She attacked Raishan’s character for refusing to take blame for what had happened, which made Gilmore wonder if Keyleth had really been listening to Raishan’s story. Then she threatened Raishan, and they got into a battle of words...and Gilmore was so very bored. 

He turned to Grog and rested his forehead against one great arm. This squabbling and finger-pointing wasn’t going to get them anywhere. Finally, Percival and Keyleth demanded to know what Raishan really wanted. She lied and told them she wanted full access to the corpse upon Thordak's death. Vox Machina believed it, falling for the ruse and telling Raishan that they would have to watch whatever she intended to do. 

Grog stepped away, walking around the table and poking the illusion to make certain it was still an illusion. At least he hadn’t tried to stab it. Gilmore just wished they would get on with planning already. He wandered in the direction of the doors, hoping to get close to Vax, at least for a little while. Gilmore put a hand on Vax’ildan’s shoulder, but he was tense as a bowstring and did not even acknowledge Gilmore’s presence. 

Finally, strategy discussion began again. Grog asked if Raishan was going to be part of their plan, and Percy said no, it was better to keep her as far away from them as possible. Which Gilmore thought very foolish. Vax’ildan’s expression grew more and more sour as he watched the group talk, until finally, he burst out, “But no one has any mistake; she’s lying to our faces. She is not telling us what she wants or what she wants to do. You have a whole plan,” he accused, glaring at Raishan. 

She did, but that did not mean they couldn’t work together for mutual benefit. Unfortunately, Vax was far too emotional for that. “Assume what you will,” Raishan said. 

“Oh, shut the fuck up!” Vax shouted, startling Gilmore, who dropped his arm. “You’ve been droning on for an hour. Shut the fuck up!” It was so rude, and the language so uncalled-for, Gilmore was actually ashamed of him. He stepped away, moving back toward the table as Vax continued his tirade. “You’re not telling us what you want. You fucking shitbag! Fuck you!” 

“You keep great company,” Raishan said, glancing at Gilmore, who wished he could just crawl into a hole and die of shame. That his boy was so ill-mannered, could be so disrespectful to a being hundreds of years his senior--regardless of their tenuous alliance. Gilmore was mortified. 

“Does anyone really believe that this is all going to be fixed if we work with her?” Vax demanded, glancing at his companions. At this point, even Keyleth could see Vax’ildan was out of control. She recommended they take a recess, and offered that Raishan could meet her in private if she wanted to be healed of her curse. 

Now it was Raishan’s turn to lose her composure a bit, and Gilmore did not blame her. “You do not comprehend the magics that you even speak of. It’s cute.” Gilmore was not so sure Keyleth actually thought she could remove a soul curse. It was possible she was just using it as a ruse to get Raishan alone. But if Keyleth _was_ under the illusion that she was that powerful, she had a lot to learn. 

Raishan took Percival’s distrust and ran with it, saying she would go back to Emon to tell Thordak of Vorugal’s demise and reassure him of her loyalty. She could also gather information there while they made their plans. Vox Machina discussed feeding Thordak false information through Raishan in order to draw him out. 

Vex’ahlia suggested they pretend to kill Raishan, assuming that without his generals, he would have to come out and fight Vox Machina himself. He wouldn’t, though. Gilmore could have told her that. But he held his peace, still mortified at his people’s behavior throughout this meeting. 

Raishan agreed to nothing, but suggested they take their recess. And Gilmore was grateful. He needed a break from all the rage and madness. He needed a drink. Or at least a warm Jarett to lean on. “Allura, how does this sit with you?” Vax asked, before they adjourned. 

“To be perfectly honest, this bothers me a great deal. But the fact that Whitestone still stands does speak volumes at the least.”

“It does,” Percival agreed.

“With the cards being in our favor,” Allura finished. No one seemed to care what Gilmore thought, but it was probably for the best that no one asked him. Percival commented that Raishan was not the first devil he’d made a deal with. Stellar example. Allura said they all had a lot to think about. She asked Raishan if the real Assum still lived. 

“Indeed he does,” Raishan said. Gilmore certainly hoped she was telling the truth. Vex’ahlia asked, very cleverly, if Raishan could bring the real Assum to Whitestone. Raishan said it might interfere with Assum’s leadership of the rebellion to take him out of Emon suddenly, but Vox Machina became insistent she do so. They clearly did not believe her that Assum lived. 

Raishan argued that they had to make their moves wisely from now on. She could do recon in Emon or bring Assum to Whitestone. “I’m not your errand boy,” Raishan said. “And we have limited time here. Which is more important?” 

“Sure you are,” Grog said. “You are our errand boy.”

“You work for us,” Vax said more quietly in the background. 

“We are your vessel to what it is you want. So get busy and do it quickly,” Grog demanded. “After all, you’re very powerful. But that changes day by day, doesn’t it?” He was so threatening and outspoken. Gilmore was impressed. 

Before leaving, Raishan warned them again that it would be next to impossible to get Thordak out of his nest. Gilmore did not miss her word choice. Percy told her that her input on their emerging plan was always welcome--at least to him. Raishan promised them she would be back in a day, and then the illusion of Assum disappeared. Gilmore needed a nap. 

_Be my ears_ , Raishan told him. 

Gilmore sighed. “This is going to be even more difficult than I’d thought.” Why were the children like this?


	3. Unjust Means

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A secret meeting convenes at the ziggurat. Gilmore thanks Grog. In cooking up a trap for Thordak, Vox Machina unwittingly commits a deal breaker for Gilmore.

“So, Allura, just so it’s clear: Seeker Assum is Raishan,” Grog explained. Gilmore went back to his chair and rested his head on his arms. At this point, there would be no difference if he was awake or asleep for the rest of this disastrous meeting. 

Percival asked that someone make certain everyone in this room was who they said they were. Scanlan suggested Percy stab everyone, which not all of the council recognized as a joke. Gilmore honestly didn’t care. They could stab him at this point. After everything that had just happened, he was done.

Percy made a paltry attempt at an apology for his behavior, and the rest of Vox Machina began to roast him for thinking he could just walk up and stab Raishan. Cassandra broke through, tugging Percival’s sleeve until he recognized her. She underlined the dire nature of the situation, and begged her brother to fix what he’d just broken. Cassie sounded close to tears. Gilmore wanted to give her the hug her brother couldn’t. 

All Percy had to offer was excuses. Disappointingly, Vox Machina backed him up. Gilmore kept his head down, listening but trying not to. Scanlan said that Raishan’s plan to draw Thordak out was a good one. But Vax interrupted: “I mean, I’m not the only one who thinks she’s more dangerous than he is at this point.” 

“Oh, yes,” Vex’ahlia agreed. She said there was no way they could trust Raishan with Thordak’s body after the battle was won. Gilmore honestly had no idea just what they thought she was going to do with it that they cared so much. Then Vex went a step further, suggesting they actually kill Raishan before they attacked Thordak. 

Gilmore groaned, wishing vaguely that they would kill him, instead. Of course Raishan was still on the roof, listening to this whole thing. How were they so foolish? As if to underscore Gilmore’s point, Vax attempted to perceive any invisible dragons in the room. Percival asked anyone who wasn’t who they said they were to please raise their hand. Gilmore was about this close to banging his head on the table. 

Grog asked Allura to “light some sage” and make sure everyone was on the up and up. Gilmore wondered why he was even here. No one seemed to notice his presence or absence, either way. 

Allura said that Assum was the one who’d suggested they not move the war room down to the ziggurat, and everyone agreed to move to the new war room now. 

Scanlan joked that Grog’s beard might go away if they did. Vax joined in, saying, “I mean, for science, right? Let’s go. You look really good without a beard, Grog. I’ve always thought so.” Why were they such children?

“You shut up, you,” Grog threatened him softly. Vax left the room, cackling, a grinning Scanlan following close behind. As everyone filed out, Gilmore touched Grog’s arm, hoping to speak with him privately. “Oh hey, Gilmore!” Grog smiled, as though noticing him for the first time. “Sorry Percy whiffed it.”

Gilmore shook his head. “I don’t care about any of that, Grog.” 

“No?” 

“No.” Gilmore took Grog’s hand. “I wanted to thank you. For saving Vax’ildan’s life in Wildemount. He may not acknowledge it, but he wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for you. So thank you. It was very kind what you did.” 

“Aww.” Grog blushed a little, his blue-grey cheeks warming to a light mauve. “I had to save Pike anyway, and he was right there. Vax pisses me off, but I don’t want him, like. Dead-dead.” 

“Still.” Gilmore pulled himself up by Grog’s shoulders and kissed him full on the mouth, a deep, lingering kiss of gratitude. 

Grog stumbled a little afterwards, overwhelmed. “Whoa. I gotta save Vax more often.” He looked down at Gilmore. “Would it count if I killed him first before bringin him back?” 

Gilmore laughed. “Very funny, Grog.” He kissed Grog’s cheek. “Really, though. Thank you.” 

“Uh…” Grog glanced down. “I’ve still got some hugs coming, right?” 

“Indeed you do,” Gilmore smiled. 

“Well, uh. Maybe we’ll save those for a bit later.” 

Gilmore noted that Grog’s kilt was currently standing at attention. “Ah, yes. Perhaps that would be for the best.” 

Grog nodded. “Agreed.” And the two of them walked down to the ziggurat together. 

In the new war room, Vox Machina discussed the green dragon, and how best to get rid of her. Then they turned to scheming ways to utilize the siphon to defeat Thordak. It was a mad, nonsensical conversation, and Gilmore pretended not to hear it. He left it to Allura to try to talk some sense into them; they seemed to listen better to her anyway. 

It was Grog who suggested--seemingly at random--that they seek the final Vestige while they waited for Raishan to return with Assum. Grog made an eloquent case for it, and Keyleth said they might glean information from the fire plane that would help them defeat Thordak. 

Wait. They were honestly considering going to the elemental plane of fire? Now? _No, no, no._ Getting themselves killed--before they’d even faced the red dragon, no less--was a terrible plan. 

Gilmore had not finished being properly horrified by the idea, when Percy suggested they test the siphon by feeding living beings into it. Not one of Vox Machina objected to the idea, down to the last member of the group. Gilmore’s blood ran cold. If their alignments had already shifted so far toward evil...what hope was there for Tal’Dorei? He felt sick. 

Percival insisted this might be just the ticket to getting rid of Raishan. When Keyleth conjured a pixie and Grog suggested it touch the orb, Gilmore stared at each one of them in disbelief, willing them to rethink this plan, to recognize that murder was wrong. 

As Keyleth considered whether to do it or not, Percival pretended to object. But Gilmore didn’t believe him; this experiment had been Percy’s idea to start. Then it happened: with little forethought and no concern for the consequences, Keyleth commanded the pixie to touch the siphon.

Gilmore refused to be a part of this, or to be complicit through his silence. He immediately turned and walked away. Allura looked at him sadly as he passed her, trying to grab onto his sleeve, but Gilmore just shook his head and descended the stairs. 

What had Vox Machina become? Did he really want to be affiliated with a group of individuals who could casually end an innocent life on a whim, as an experiment? Gilmore needed time alone to think.


End file.
